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Shouldn't the AP have editors to catch this? How important was the article
that it should have been sent out without some decent editing? I imagine
that the headline, "Six indicted for "cheese" heroin distribution," probably
warranted some hasty newsworthiness for "cheese heroin" because that's a new
term we should keep in mind if we hear teens mention that they need
"cheese." Perhaps the AP writers and editors are little over-worked.
Lauren
> -----Original Message-----
> From: techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+lt34=csus -dot- edu -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com] On
> Behalf Of Bonnie Granat
> Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 11:16 AM
> To: neilson -at- windstream -dot- net; 'Techwr-l'
> Subject: RE: Automatic editing?
>
> Could be that "31-year-old" was moved from another place and
> changing the
> "1" was missed when they changed the "3" -- it happens to
> editors, too. :0
>
> I would otherwise agree with your hypothesis, but I don't
> think that's the
> case here. Besides, with an AP sourcing, it may not have been
> the TV station
> at all. My understanding is that if you run something like your story
> (http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=6620358), you run it
> the way AP
> wrote it. I have this opinion because of the identical
> stories I see from
> time to time, all credited to AP.
>
>
> Bonnie Granat
>http://www.GranatEdit.com
>
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From:
> > techwr-l-bounces+bgranat=granatedit -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l -dot- com
> > [mailto:techwr-l-bounces+bgranat=granatedit -dot- com -at- lists -dot- techwr-l
> > .com] On Behalf Of neilson -at- windstream -dot- net
> > Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 12:30 PM
> > To: Techwr-l
> > Subject: Automatic editing?
> >
> > The following paragraph is from an online report on the web page
> > of KLTV in Tyler TX (near Dallas).
> >
> > "Thirty-1-year-old Martin Laguna is charged with conspiracy to
> > possess heroin with intent to distribute, plus distribution of
> > heroin. He's also charged with possession of a firearm during a
> > drug trafficking crime."
> >
> > Thirty-1 ??? How did they accomplish that? Whaddya bet that as a
> > TV station, they're not putting much effort into editing for good
> > journalistic writing. So they have a smell-checker that tries to
> > apply some AP Style Guide rules: (a) Numbers from 1 to 10
> are spelled
> > out, and everything else is in digits. (b) Sentences do not
> begin with
> > numbers in digits. Applying both rules at once gives
> amazing results.
> >
> > I'm sure it's from automatic editing; no human editor, reporter or
> > typist could do something so ridiculous, even if not a native
> > speaker of English.
> >
> > So you saw it here first--the oncoming automation of copy editing.
> > As tech writers we tend to regard MS Word's grammar and spelling
> > suggestions as occasionally helpful and frequently quite silly.
> > We ignore them when we know they're wrong. But the Bulldozer of
> > Future Standards is upon us, and we will be crushed by it. We will
> > see our finished writing pushed through an automatic Grammar
> > Grinder and ruined in the name of improvement, and the result
> > will become the new standard.
> >
> > [Neilson emulates the Grammar Grinder on previous graf:]
> > So you were here first. The outcome automates copy editing.
> > As technical writers tend to regard Ms. Word's grammar and
> > spelling suggestions... [Geez, I gotta stop; my head hurts.]
> >
> > --Peter Neilson
> >
> >
> >
> >
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